I was just numb when I heard the news about the Wellstone plane. Yes, Sen. Paul Wellstone was an advocate for economic democracy, for the environment, for international justice and so on. Public officials with those kinds of values are far too rare. On top of all that simply was the fact that he was such a decent, personable and principled person with a sense of humor to boot. The outpouring of emotion all over the country is testimony to how many people he touched personally and by his example.

I volunteered on his first U.S. Senate campaign when I was a student in Minnesota, and what motivated me and many others was that his candidacy was such a bold step for Minnesota. After the initial shock of the deaths started to wear off, attention turned to finding a new candidate for the election.

The predictable names of Walter Mondale and Skip Humphrey appeared, and it looks like former Vice President Mondale has been recruited as a stand-in. But short of one of the Wellstones wanting to run, the best idea I saw among the various names discussed was Alan Page.

Wellstone’s candidacy was a bold step and proved to be exactly the right choice to unseat Rudy Boschwitz. The DFL needs to take just as bold a step for Minnesota – for all those across the country who considered Wellstone their senator because he represented them better than their own state senators – and put Alan Page on the ballot. Not only would it give the DFL a chance to retain a U.S. Senate seat, it would also be a great tribute to Wellstone’s memory.